1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatuses and methods for muting an audio device upon the recognition of an audio input generated by another device.
2. Description of the Invention Background
The ring of a telephone, be it cordless, wired or cellular, invariably demands attention, and especially in situations when a call is expected, such as a business call in an office, an important call in a cell phone while driving, a family call while lying in a hospital bed, and so on. In many of these situations, a person may be listening to a program on the radio, a CD on a CD player, or watching television, or simply having a background sound from an audio device, when a telephone rings. It is often not convenient to reduce such “background” sound before the telephone is answered. When driving, in particular, muting the radio to answer a cell phone call, even when using a hands-free cell phone kit, may still be dangerous.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,391 discloses an incoming call alert system for cellular telephones without wired connection thereto. The alert system includes a transducer tuned to receive the voice channel frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,200 discloses a device for controlling an accessory based on the detection of transmissions of appropriate input frequency exceeding a minimum threshold amplitude from a nearby cellular telephone.